(Ken Silva, Headline USA) After a leaked FBI intelligence bulletin showed in February that the FBI was spying on “radical-traditionalist Catholics,” bureau Director Chris Wray apologized for the matter and claimed that the surveillance of Catholics was a mistake, and that the FBI didn’t mean to infringe on their First Amendment rights.
However, the House Judiciary Committee said Monday that the FBI is still having internal discussions about including radical Catholics as part of a nationwide operation against “racially motivated violent extremists.”
Citing an interview with FBI Richmond’s Special Agent in Charge, Stanley Meador, the committee said in a report that “there have been some discussions … throughout the months of a desire to still try and get this information out somehow.”
“This revelation is disturbing because the memorandum relied on biased sources and a single investigation, suggesting that the memorandum and its contents are not fully supported,” the Judiciary Committee said in its report.
“Yet, despite the shortcomings of the Richmond memorandum and the widespread criticism for its creation, the FBI still apparently desires to convey the outrageous message that some Catholic Americans with traditional beliefs pose a domestic terror threat to our country.”
The Judiciary Committee has also shown that Director Wray lied when he said earlier this year that the Catholic spying scandal was limited to “a single field office” in Richmond, Virgina.
Indeed, the committee released the leaked intelligence bulletin leaked in August—the version leaked in February was heavily redacted—showing that both FBI Portland and FBI Los Angeles field offices were involved in or contributed to the creation of FBI’s assessment of traditional Catholics as potential domestic terrorists.
The document also revealed that an undercover FBI employee in California was reporting on the activities of the “radical” Catholics.
“The FBI relied on information derived from at least one undercover employee and sought to use local religious organizations as ‘new avenues for tripwire and source development,’” the committee said.
“This proposed outreach plan included contacting so-called ‘mainline Catholic parishes’ and the local ‘diocesan leadership,’” it continued. “The documents reveal that the FBI also expressed an interest in ‘leverag[ing] existing sources and/or initiat[ing] Type 5 Assessments to develop new sources with the placement and access’ to report on suspicious activity.”
Along with being criticized for spying on Catholics, the FBI has been blasted for citing Southern Poverty Law Center information in its intelligence bulletin as the justification for its activities.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
